Wears Valley, Tennessee

Last updated

Wears Valley
Roundtop-mountain-sevier-tn1.jpg
Roundtop Mountain overlooking Wears Valley
USA Tennessee location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Wears Valley
Location within the state of Tennessee
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Wears Valley
Wears Valley (the United States)
Coordinates: 35°42′50″N83°39′11″W / 35.71389°N 83.65306°W / 35.71389; -83.65306
Country United States
State Tennessee
County Sevier
Population
 (2010)
  Total7,486 [1]
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
37862
Area code 865
GNIS feature ID1304427 [2]

Wears Valley (sometimes spelled Wear Valley) is an unincorporated community in Sevier County, Tennessee that was formerly treated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census county division. As of the 2000 Census, the population of Wears Valley was 6,486. [3]

Contents

Wears Valley is situated in a valley known as Wear Cove, which runs parallel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Like other park border communities, the history and economy of the valley are intertwined with that of the Smokies.

Both are named after Samuel Wear (1753–1817), a Revolutionary War veteran who erected a fort near the entrance to Wear Cove in what is now Pigeon Forge.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,486 people, 2,585 households, and 1,955 families residing in Wears Valley. The racial makeup of this area was 97.7% White, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, and 0.5% African American. Hispanics and Latinos comprise 1.8% of the population.

Of the 2,585 households, 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.89.

77.8% of the population was 18 years of age or older with 12.3% being 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. The population was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.

The median income for a household in the area was $34,479, and the median income for a family was $39,901. The per capita income was $17,422. About 9.1% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

Geography

Cove Mountain rising above Wears Valley Wv-covemtnmist2.jpg
Cove Mountain rising above Wears Valley

Wears Valley is centered at 35°42′50″N83°39′11″W / 35.71389°N 83.65306°W / 35.71389; -83.65306 (35.7139, -83.6531). The community covers most of Wear Cove, with the national park boundary comprising the town's entire southern border and the Blount/Sevier county line providing its western border.

U.S. Route 321 / Tennessee State Route 73 is the community's main road, connecting Townsend in the west with Pigeon Forge in east, where it merges with U.S. 441. This section of 321/73 is known as "Wears Valley Road". Line Springs Road connects Wears Valley Road with Little River Road inside the national park, crossing Wear Cove Gap between Cove Mountain and Roundtop and emerging at the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area. Upon entering the park at the gap, it becomes Wear Cove Gap Road, a narrow road without lines, which now provides a shortcut from the park to the new end of the parkway.

Since opening in November 2018, this new section of the Foothills Parkway connects Wears Valley to the existing parkway at Walland to the west-northwest. Most of this was already finished (in the 1960s) or nearly so, but the "missing link" section northeast of Townsend had to be completed with a series of bridges before the section could finally open. The section east of Wears Valley (at 321/73) to Pigeon Forge and beyond is completely unconstructed, and will not occur in the foreseeable future.

History

Early settlement

Aaron Crowson's grave at Crowson Cemetery in Wears Valley Wv-crowsongrave2.jpg
Aaron Crowson's grave at Crowson Cemetery in Wears Valley

Wears Valley is named after Samuel Wear (1753–1817), a Revolutionary War veteran who erected a fort near the entrance to the valley in what is now Pigeon Forge.

Aaron Crowson arrived in Wears Valley from North Carolina in 1792 along with his friend, Peter Percefield. This was during a period of elevated strife between the Cherokee and the fast-encroaching Euro-American settlers. Wear's Fort was attacked in 1793, with Wear leading a punitive march against the Cherokee village of Tallassee shortly thereafter. In May 1794, Percefield was killed in a Cherokee attack. Crowson rode to Wear's Fort to get help, but the Cherokee had fled by the time he returned. Several settlers marched onward to Great Tellico to the west, where they killed four Cherokee while they slept. Percefield was buried on a hill in the eastern half of Wear Cove, in what is now Crowson Cemetery. Later that year, Crowson received a land grant for this plot of land. [4]

The Peter Brickey House, constructed ca. 1808 Wv-brickeyhouse3.jpg
The Peter Brickey House, constructed ca. 1808

Along with Crowson, other early settlers in Wears Valley included a Revolutionary War veteran named William Headrick (1744–1839), who arrived in 1821, and John Ogle (1788–1841), a War of 1812 veteran and son of the first settlers in Gatlinburg. Another War of 1812 veteran, Peter Brickey (1769–1856), arrived in 1808. Brickey operated a large farm and distillery in the valley until his death in 1856. The log house he built shortly after his arrival still stands in Smith Hollow (between Wears Valley and Townsend) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [5]

Like many other farms in Wears Valley, the Brickey farm was ravaged by the U.S. Civil War. Isaac Trotter, who operated the iron forge at Pigeon Forge reported a Cherokee raid in Wear Cove in 1864. [6] Earlier in the war, a Union army passed through the valley en route to dislodge the troops of Will Thomas who were entrenched in Gatlinburg. [7] William C. Pickens, a resident of Wears Valley, was one of the so-called bridge-burners, a band of pro-Union guerillas who attempted to destroy several railroad bridges across East Tennessee in November 1861. Pickens led the failed attack on the Strawberry Plains bridge, and was badly wounded in the attack. [8] Pro-Union newspaper editor William "Parson" Brownlow, wanted by Confederate authorities for complicity in the bridge burnings, hid out in Wears Valley at the home of Valentine Mattox in November 1861. [9]

Sometime after the war, Alfred Line (1831–1897) established a farm at the base of Roundtop Mountain, near the southern half of Wear Cove. Line Spring, a clear mountain spring which flows down from the slopes of Roundtop, gave its name to a small recreational area that developed in this part of the cove. In the 1880s and 1890s, mineral-rich mountain springs were thought to have health-restoring qualities, and provided an early form of tourism for the mountain regions. In 1910, D.B. Lawson, the son of a circuit rider who had purchased the Line farm, constructed the Line Spring Hotel. The hotel boosted the valley's economy by providing a market for local farmers. [4]

Religion

Headrick Chapel, constructed in 1902 Wv-headrick4.jpg
Headrick Chapel, constructed in 1902

Around 1800, Crowson and several other settlers erected a crude log church known as the Bethlehem Church. The church was used by both Methodists and Baptists throughout the 19th century, with Baptist services being conducted by an elected pastor and Methodist services being conducted by circuit riders. On occasion, both congregations would meet in a mini-revival known as a "union meeting." In 1886, both Baptists and Methodists constructed separate structures, although union meetings were still fairly common. [4]

For most of the 19th century, funerals in Wears Valley were held at Headrick Cemetery, near the valley's western entrance. A large oak tree provided shelter for funeral-goers, although cold weather and rain often made apparent the need for a building in which to conduct indoor services. In 1902, according to local lore, the oak tree was destroyed by lightning, and in response, the residents erected Headrick Chapel on the cemetery's grounds. The chapel was shared by four Baptist and Methodist congregations, with funeral services having priority. The chapel's bell would ring once for every year of the deceased's life, a tradition still observed by the inhabitants of Wears Valley. In 2001, Headrick Chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. [10]

The national park

The Wear Cove entrance to the GSMNP on Lyon Spring Road Wv-parkentrance3.jpg
The Wear Cove entrance to the GSMNP on Lyon Spring Road

In 1934, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established. The park's border paralleled Wears Valley to the south, following the crest of Roundtop and Cove Mountain. With improvements to US-321 in the 1950s, tourist outlets began to trickle into Wears Valley. Cabin rentals and outdoor supply stores are among the more common tourism-oriented venues in the valley today.

In 2005, a group of developers led by Ron Ogle and Jerry Miller sought to build 400 houses on the slopes of Cove Mountain. This raised concern among many Wears Valley residents over the impact such development might have on Cove Mountain's scenic value. In 2007, Friends of Wears Valley a group opposed to the development unsuccessfully petitioned the Sevier County Regional Planning Commission to block the housing expansion on Cove Mountain. The group has posted "Save Our Mountains" signs throughout the valley, although the developers insist their plans will not harm the mountain's natural qualities. [11] [12]

Fire of 2016

While the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains arson fires mainly affected the nearby towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, many cabins did burn down in the northern part of the valley. After a downed power line ignited the dry foliage in Little Cove Gap, an isolated fire quickly spread, thereby consuming the surrounding structures towards the northern end of Wears Valley. Around 40 homes were destroyed and another 40 were damaged on Hideaway Mountain and Dogwood Farms Mountain. [13]

Fire of 2022

On March 30, 2022, a wildfire known as the Hatcher Mountain Road/Indigo Lane Fire broke out in Wears Valley. The fire swept across the Greater Pigeon Forge area in the span of 4 hours. The Sevier County emergency management issued evacuations of the surrounding area with an evacuation shelter being set up in central Pigeon Forge. [14] Schools were closed the next day on March 31, 2022. [15]

Education

Wears Valley is the site of Wearwood Elementary School.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sevier County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

Sevier County is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,380. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville. Sevier County comprises the Sevierville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townsend, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Townsend is a city in Blount County, Tennessee. The city was chartered in 1921 by persons who were involved with the Little River Railroad and Lumber Company. The population was 550 at the 2020 census. For thousands of years a site of Native American occupation by varying cultures, Townsend is one of three "gateways" to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It has several museums and attractions relating to the natural and human history of the Great Smokies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatlinburg, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee. It is located 39 miles (63 km) southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,944 at the 2010 Census and a U.S. Census population of 3,577 in 2020. It is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S. Route 441, which connects to Cherokee, North Carolina, on the southeast side of the national park. Prior to incorporation, the town was known as White Oak Flats, or simply White Oak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeon Forge, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 6,343. Situated just 5 miles (8 km) north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge is a tourist destination that caters primarily to Southern culture and country music fans. The city's attractions include Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country, WonderWorks, Alcatraz East Crime Museum, Dolly Parton's Stampede, as well as numerous gift shops, outlet malls, amusement rides, and musical theaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittman Center, Tennessee</span> Town in Tennessee, United States

Pittman Center is a town in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 454 at the 2020 census and 502 at the 2010 census. The town borders Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. U.S. 321 passes through the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Smoky Mountains National Park</span> National park in Tennessee and North Carolina

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a national park of the United States in the southeast, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The park contains some of the highest mountains in eastern North America, including Kuwohi, Mount Guyot, and Mount Le Conte. The border between the two states runs northeast to southwest through the center of the park. The Appalachian Trail passes through the center of the park on its route from Georgia to Maine. With 13 million visitors in 2023, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Smoky Mountains</span> American mountain range along North Carolina/Tennessee border

The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains, and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934 and, with over 11 million visits per year, is the most visited national park in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little River (Tennessee)</span> River in Tennessee, United States

Little River is a 60-mile (97 km) river in Tennessee which drains a 380-square-mile (980 km2) area containing some of the most spectacular scenery in the southeastern United States. The first 18 miles (29 km) of the river are all located within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The remaining 42 miles (68 km) flow out of the mountains through Blount County to join the Tennessee River at Fort Loudon Lake in Knox County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foothills Parkway</span> National parkway in Tennessee

The Foothills Parkway is a national parkway which traverses the foothills of the northern Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The 72.1-mile (114 km) parkway will connect U.S. Route 129 along the Little Tennessee River in the west with Interstate 40 (I-40) along the Pigeon River in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sugarlands</span> Valley in the north-central Great Smoky Mountains

The Sugarlands is a valley in Tennessee within the north-central Great Smoky Mountains, located in the southeastern United States. Formerly home to a string of small Appalachian communities, the valley is now the location of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park headquarters and the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Lying just south of Gatlinburg, the Sugarlands is one of the park's most popular access points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosby, Tennessee</span> Census-designated place in Tennessee, United States

Cosby is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Cocke County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population of the Cosby CDP according to the 2020 census was 807. The community has given its name to the northeastern section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which forms its southern boundary. Cosby's zip code also extends to into Sevier County, and borders the town of Pittman Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roaring Fork (Great Smoky Mountains)</span> Stream in Tennessee

Roaring Fork is a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. Once the site of a small Appalachian community, today the stream's area is home to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and the Roaring Fork Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenbrier (Great Smoky Mountains)</span> Valley in Sevier County, Tennessee

Greenbrier is a valley in the northern Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. Now a recreational area located within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Greenbrier was once home to several Appalachian communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walland, Tennessee</span> CDP in Tennessee, United States

Walland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 281 as of the 2020 census. Walland is the site of a post office and is the place name associated with zip code 37886, which covers an area beyond the Walland community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roundtop Trail</span> Hiking trail in Tennessee, United States

The Roundtop Trail is an American hiking trail in Sevier County and Blount County sections of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trail traverses the crest of Roundtop, a 3,077-foot (938 m) mountain that straddles the park's northern boundary. This trail, which passes through a thick forest of pine and oak and provides vistas of the valleys to the north and the mountains to the south, is one of the least-used trails in the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarland Mountain Trail</span> Hiking trail in Sevier County, Tennessee

The Sugarland Mountain Trail is an American hiking trail, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail traverses Sugarland Mountain, a massive ridge running perpendicular to the main crest of the Smokies and effectively dividing the park's north-central section from its northwestern section. Sugarland Mountain is flanked by the deep upper valleys of two of the park's major watersheds— the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River and Little River. The trail passes through several forest types, including deciduous forest at lower elevations, heaths ("hells") along the mountain's backbone formations, and a stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest in the upper elevations. Occasional breaks in the foliage allow for views of Mount Le Conte and Sevier County to the east and Blanket Mountain and the ridges above Elkmont to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wear Cove</span> Valley in southwestern Sevier County, Tennessee

Wear Cove is a valley in southwestern Sevier County, Tennessee. It runs parallel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park just to its south. Like other park border regions, the history and economy of the valley are intertwined with that of the Smokies. The primary community is Wears Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 441 in Tennessee</span> U.S. Highway in Tennessee

U.S. Route 441 (US 441) stretches for 83.28 miles (134.03 km) through the mountains of East Tennessee, connecting Rocky Top with Knoxville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, crossing into North Carolina at Newfound Gap. Near its northern terminus, US 441 crosses over Norris Dam and passes through Norris Dam State Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee State Route 73</span> Highway in Tennessee, United States

State Route 73 is west-north state highway in East Tennessee. For most of its length, it is an unsigned companion route to U.S. Route 321.

Samuel Wear was an American Revolutionary War soldier who fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain. He was one of the early inhabitants of, and a founder of, the "Lost State of Franklin". He later helped draft the Constitution of the State of Tennessee.

References

  1. "Wears Valley Facts".
  2. "Wears Valley, Tennessee". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, "Wear Valley CCD, Sevier County, Tennessee Data Set (sample) Archived February 12, 2020, at archive.today ." Retrieved: December 2, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 Ida Headrick Myers, "Recollections of Wears Valley," The Sevier County News-Record, 1953. (http://www.headrickchapel.org/wears_valley.shtml) Retrieved: July 16, 2007.
  5. The Center for Historic Preservation, "Tennessee Century Farms Blount County" (http://histpres.mtsu.edu/centfarms/blount_county/#Brickey_Farm) Retrieved: July 16, 2007.
  6. D.M.G. Emert, Beulah Linn (editor), "The Isaac Trotter Papers," Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter 12, no. 2 (Summer of 1986): 31.
  7. Beulah Linn, Reunion At the River: Official History of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee 1783-1930 (Pigeon Forge Homecoming '86 Committee, 1986), 10-20.
  8. Oliver Perry Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke Company, 1899), pp. 381-382.
  9. William Rule, The Loyalists of Tennessee in the Late War (Cincinnati: H.C. Sherick and Company, 1887), p. 12.
  10. David Frye, "Headrick Chapel: Symbol of a Rural East Tennessee Community," Smoky Mountain Historical Society Journal 18, no. 4 (Winter of 2004): 2. (http://www.headrickchapel.org/davids_article.shtml) Retrieved: July 16, 2007.
  11. Craig Mintz, "Wears Valley Friends To Meet," The Mountain Press, September 27, 2005.
  12. Greg Johnson, "Doomsday Development On Cove Mountain," The Knoxville News-Sentinel, May 4, 2007. (NOTE: the Johnson article is an op-ed, and bias should be taken into account).
  13. Alvarez, Kaylin Searles, Matt; Alvarez, Matt (November 29, 2016). "40 homes destroyed, 40 damaged in Sevier County community". WZTV Fox 17. Retrieved July 2, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. "Current Wildfires". www.tn.gov. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  15. Aya Elamroussi and Dakin Andone. "Tennessee wildfire near Gatlinburg prompts evacuations of 11,000 homes, mayor says". CNN.